Live: Crown Princess Alaska / May 28-June 4, 2022

[QuilterGirl]

It's been so helpful to read other Live posts of late about the Crown, that I'm starting this thread for the May 28 sailing.  My husband and I are doing a B2B on the Crown, having been on the May 21 sailing, so we are aware of the history concerning recent issues vis-à-vis this ship.  Don't know how much I myself will post, so others on this cruise should feel free to jump in!

 

For anyone interested in how B2B worked for us, we received a letter stating that we would NOT need to test for Covid (not on the ship or on the pier).  We were also told that we did not have to disembark and go through Customs/Immigration in-between sailings.  (We could disembark if we wanted to, and were given "Guest in Transit" cards and info on how to proceed, if we wished to get off for a few hours.  BTW, we saw no Princess tours for B2B guests, ones that would return you to the pier - only tours ending at the airport.)   From previous recent B2B cruises, we are aware that we do not have to watch the safety video again.  We also do not have to visit our Muster Station - we are in the same room as before; if one changed rooms, I should think a visit would be in order.

Our room had some issues on the first leg of our B2B cruise.  We brought these to the attention of our steward, who passed the word on as appropriate.  Repairs were made in very prompt order.  Also, I was sent a letter saying that my Medallion was not functioning properly, and that I should bring it down to Guest Services for a replacement.  They made an entirely new one. 

 

The crew has been superb - the food lovely - the entertainment great.  Hope all enjoy the May 28 cruise in spite of previously-announced (and any new) issues!

Edited May 28, 2022 by QuilterGirl

[QuilterGirl]

BTW, for those interested in self-serve laundry on board the Crown Princess, here is the information from a sign posted in each laundry room:

 

NOTICE:

Washing Cycle for One Load:  40 Minutes

Requires:  1 x Bronze Coin - $3.00 Value

 

Drying Cycle for One Load:  40 Minutes

Requires:  1 x Bronze Coin - $3.00 Value

 

Bleach & Softener:  1 x Gold Coin - $1.50 Value

 

Reminder:   Please do Not Leave Your Laundry Unattended After Drying

[wolvey]

3 minutes ago, QuilterGirl said:

BTW, for those interested in self-serve laundry on board the Crown Princess, here is the information from a sign posted in each laundry room:

 

NOTICE:

Washing Cycle for One Load:  40 Minutes

Requires:  1 x Bronze Coin - $3.00 Value

 

Drying Cycle for One Load:  40 Minutes

Requires:  1 x Bronze Coin - $3.00 Value

 

Bleach & Softener:  1 x Gold Coin - $1.50 Value

 

Reminder:   Please do Not Leave Your Laundry Unattended After Drying

What sucks is that we just got notice of the Juneau excursion being canceled when we got to our room. It was all good up until now.  Sigh.

[MarcsSharon]

1 hour ago, wolvey said:

What sucks is that we just got notice of the Juneau excursion being canceled when we got to our room. It was all good up until now.  Sigh.

We get on next week…and am hopeful you share some good things going on. Sorry to hear about your lost excursion. At this point we have nothing booked…can’t deal with anymore disappointments. Will see what’s available last minute. After 17 months of planning it’s the best way..sheesh.

Enjoy your cruise and thanks so much for posting.

[ImperialLady]

2 hours ago, wolvey said:

What sucks is that we just got notice of the Juneau excursion being canceled when we got to our room. It was all good up until now.  Sigh.

Sad to read this...

[HogTide]

Thank You!  Thank you for your efforts. We will be on after you with a group of 13 family members, some on their first trip to Alaska. The grandkids are already disappointed in anticipation of the excursion cancellations!  I hope someone that came on today will let us know what time Arrival Group A has allowed to proceed through check-in. Our best wishes for all to have a safe/healthy week!!

[wolvey]

Here is what is available for the Juneau excursion as of 3pm. We decided to do the salmon bake because the glacier explorer was sold out by the time we got to the desk around 1230pm.  We had the glacier/hatchery/bake excursion which was canceled when we got on board so they knew this before.

 

i would suggest getting on board asap to see if your excursions are canceled. If so or you want to book something, you can do it quickly before everyone else finds out and does the same thing.  The salmon bake sold out around 2pm.

 

 

 

 

[wolvey]

44 minutes ago, HogTide said:

Thank You!  Thank you for your efforts. We will be on after you with a group of 13 family members, some on their first trip to Alaska. The grandkids are already disappointed in anticipation of the excursion cancellations!  I hope someone that came on today will let us know what time Arrival Group A has allowed to proceed through check-in. Our best wishes for all to have a safe/healthy week!!

On your medallion app, you can chose the boarding time. Take the earliest (11am) if you can. It took about 30 mins from drop off to getting into the ship. We did the 11am-1130am time.

[wolvey]

I don’t have internet connection so can only update when onshore.  Have fun!

[samsam2022]

Thank @QuilterGirl for the thread and @wolvey for posting excursion. Any idea if Juneau Excursion "Dog Sledding on the Mendenhall Glacier by Helicopter 2.75 hours | Juneau | JNU-845 " was cancelled or still available.  We for now reserved for 5:45 on June 18th cruise, hoping it will be available. Thanks again for providing valuable information.

[wolvey]

I’m still near the shore…what you see is what was is available for us.  So I have to assume no. All of the above earliest start is 615. We are schedule to come in at 530. So you 545 is quite close so I’m guessing it will be canceled. Only other option is if they reschedule the tour to a later time by the time your sailing arrives.

Edited May 29, 2022 by wolvey

[Crow9]

If you go to Crooners bar, Violeta makes amazing drinks including the mocktail Strawberries on Fire which I had many of.  There is also an outlet at the corner of that bar, one of the few I found outside of the staterooms.

 

One of the cool things on the cruise was ordering drinks and food from anywhere on the ship.

[samsam2022]

Thanks @wolvey

[sjde]

Thank you for this. Can you tell us about the entertainment and what you enjoyed?

[QuilterGirl]

There was no dining room open for lunch on today's sailing.  Asking the assistant head waiter in our area at dinner, we were told that they were waiting for enough new crew members to complete the boarding process, before the lunch service could be run (prepped, cooked, and served).  Although they waited until the very last minute to make the final decision, in the end - what with needing a certain lead time - they were unable to pull this off.  We were sad to miss our welcoming "just-boarded" favorites, but it gave us a great excuse to get pizza from the Lido deck!  And ice cream!

[QuilterGirl]

@sjde, we didn't attend many "entertainment" items last week, but we did go to all three Production Numbers:  Encore (which featured a guest operatic soprano), Blame it on the Boogie, and Sweet Soul Music.  We had seen them all before; each was enjoyable this time around.  Tonight there is a magician, Michael Misko (star of Princess' original "Magic To Do" show).  Trivias today included Welcome Abroad [sic], I'll Take Trivia for 100, and Music Trivia: Through the Decades.

[byucruiser]

Also here in the crown. We grabbed a car via turo and will go on a hike ourselves by Mendenhall glacier and explore elsewhere. 

 

We were scheduled to eat dinner in the Boticelli dining room and the engine noise/vibration is very loud. Would recommend booking da Vinci if you can.

[QuilterGirl]

Someone on a previous "Live Crown Princess" thread wondered if there are actually any books in the on-board library.  We "checked out" the situation on the way back from the Michael Miska magic show (which was EXCELLENT).  The library has a Sudoku and a word game puzzle (both printed - grab and go), and the suggestion box for contacting the "Wake Show" hosts.  There is an assortment of typical parlor games, and some jigsaw puzzles - which conveniently can be done on the long table in the center of the library.  There is one wall with a quantity of donated "book exchange" books, mostly paperbacks.   Another wall has Crown Princess library books, of which the vast majority are fiction and are labeled and arranged alphabetically by author.  Finally, there is a small selection of non-fiction books.

Edited May 29, 2022 by QuilterGirl

[miagirl]

thank you so much for keeping the Live from the Crown going on!  I'm on the June 25th cruise.  I'm curious as to whether the King Crab legs show up on the menu for one of the formal nights.  I've seen a couple of this years Alaska menus posted and one group had them and one group didn't.

 

I hope you all have a great cruise!

[sjde]

Where are you able to see this season's Alaska menus?

[QuilterGirl]

No crab legs on the Crown last week, on the formal nights or any others.  😞

[Bubbletubs]

If anyone on this sailing could be so kind as to check the vibration on the emerald deck (8) aft. We have booked cabins E730 and E728. We are rather distraught with the itinerary changes, as we are bringing family members who are first time cruisers and have never been to Alaska, but we are under 30 days so our hands are tied at this point. I am at least hoping the vibration isn’t too bad back there, so they are not totally put off of cruising forever. We really wanted these cabins, and originally booked them back before the pandemic and have rebooked twice now, as I’m sure have many of you. Anyway, any reports about vibration back there would be greatly appreciated. If it’s really bad we might consider switching cabins.

[ChimneyTenders]

"No crab legs on the Crown last week, on the formal nights or any others.  😞"

 

I hear crab is hard to get in Alaska....LOL

Edited May 29, 2022 by ChimneyTenders

[FloatinDown]

16 hours ago, QuilterGirl said:

There was no dining room open for lunch on today's sailing.  Asking the assistant head waiter in our area at dinner, we were told that they were waiting for enough new crew members to complete the boarding process, before the lunch service could be run (prepped, cooked, and served).  Although they waited until the very last minute to make the final decision, in the end - what with needing a certain lead time - they were unable to pull this off.  We were sad to miss our welcoming "just-boarded" favorites, but it gave us a great excuse to get pizza from the Lido deck!  And ice cream!

We thought we missed it as it took us about an hour to get through check in. I don’t feel as bad now when it want an option to begin with. The food and drinks have been superb.
 

18 minutes ago, Bubbletubs said:

If anyone on this sailing could be so kind as to check the vibration on the emerald deck (8) aft. We have booked cabins E730 and E728. We are rather distraught with the itinerary changes, as we are bringing family members who are first time cruisers and have never been to Alaska, but we are under 30 days so our hands are tied at this point. I am at least hoping the vibration isn’t too bad back there, so they are not totally put off of cruising forever. We really wanted these cabins, and originally booked them back before the pandemic and have rebooked twice now, as I’m sure have many of you. Anyway, any reports about vibration back there would be greatly appreciated. If it’s really bad we might consider switching cabins.

 

We have a Caribe aft facing balcony (C752) and can feel the vibrations, but it’s not near as loud as the lower decks. We feel the vibrations like a massaging bed. If you can, definitely book your dining in the DaVinci MDR. 

[JeffT237]

15 hours ago, miagirl said:

I'm curious as to whether the King Crab legs show up on the menu for one of the formal nights. 

There were no King Crab options on the May 7th sailing that I recall, we ate at the specialty restaurants on both the formal nights and they did not offer it either.  We did look at the menus for the MDR everyday and did not see it offered.  The only crab dish I recall seeing was the crab risotto on the last night in the MDR, I had it and confirm that it had very little crab actually in it.